This invention relates generally to the field of garage doors, and more particularly to the field of garage doors having raised or embossed decorative panels, wherein the doors are provided with vents, windows or the like such that air, water and light may pass through the door as desired or required. More particularly, the invention relates to such doors wherein covers or closures for the vents and windows are provided.
Overhead garage doors comprised of multiple inter-connected, horizontally elongated sections that are raised and lowered on tracks are well known. The vast majority of such garage doors have the sections made of sheet metal or the like, and the sections are usually mounted on vertical stiles and horizontal struts or braces. It is also very common for such doors to have raised or embossed rectangular panels provided as decorative features to improve the aesthetics of the doors, the panels being formed by stamping, pressing or similar metal working techniques.
In many circumstances it is desirable or even required by building regulations to provide the garage door with windows or vents. The windows allow natural light to enter the garage when the door is closed. The vents, which are typically covered with a screen, mesh or other apertured material, allow air to pass through the door to better control the interior temperature of the garage or allow floodwater to pass through the door in flood conditions. Such vents are often required by building codes.
It is often desirable to provide a means to cover, conceal or otherwise close the windows or vents such that light, air or water cannot pass through. Examples of garage door structures that incorporate vent or window covers include U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,776 to Stansberry, showing a cover affixed to the door by mechanical clips, U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,087 to Danley et al., showing a hinged cover mounted on the exterior of the door that pivots to open the vent, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,009 to Achen, showing a vent having a sliding panel that is retained by brackets mounted on the interior of the door. The covers shown in these patents require complicated mounting mechanisms or are not aesthetically pleasing.
It is an object of this invention to provide a vent cover or window cover for a garage door that is mounted to the door section with a relatively simple mechanism and which allows the cover to be easily and quickly installed or removed to cover the vent or window. It is a further object to provide such a cover that is aesthetically complementary to the garage door, such that with the covers in place the garage door has the appearance of a non-vented or non-windowed door. It is a further object to provide such a cover structure, wherein the cover itself comprises the sheet metal material removed from the door section to create the vent or window opening, such that the material cut from the door section is not wasted, such that additional material is not required to manufacture the cover, and such that overall visual pattern of the door is matched exactly when the cover is in place over the vent or window. These objects, as well as additional objects not expressly referenced herein, will become apparent upon further review of the disclosure to follow.